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Filipino Teacher Resouce & Knowledge Base Site (Thailand)Wed, 05 Jul 2017 02:56:28 +0000en-UShourly1Retired Filipino teacher misdiagnosed with stage-four kidney failurehttps://www.fatethailand.com/2017/07/04/retired-filipino-teacher-supposed-kidney-disease/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2017/07/04/retired-filipino-teacher-supposed-kidney-disease/#respondTue, 04 Jul 2017 03:52:33 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2814Sidestory: A Thai AIDS patients turned out to be free of the disease after 15 years of taking anti-aids medication. My close friend, a retired Filipino English teacher living in Thailand, was initially diagnosed with stage-four kidney failure requiring regular dialysis but it turned out to be just another medical error. The circumstances surrounding her [...]

]]>Sidestory: A Thai AIDS patients turned out to be free of the disease after 15 years of taking anti-aids medication.

My close friend, a retired Filipino English teacher living in Thailand, was initially diagnosed with stage-four kidney failure requiring regular dialysis but it turned out to be just another medical error. The circumstances surrounding her case was similar to what happened to me. See here.

All her laboratory tests and the visible edema of the legs combined to lead her doctor to advice she undergo a regular dialysis.

Face to face with the prospect of a costly, three-times weekly dialysis, my friend was clearly very worried to the point of entertaining the thought of committing suicide.

She and her children were already looking around for the most convenient and less costly place to do the dialysis (the cheapest place they found was around 850 baht per time) when something big happened.

Her follow-up laboratory test results all showed they were within normal range, so her doctor said she did not have to do dialysis this year.

Maybe it was a miracle. However, I tend to look at it as medical error.

Upon learning of her supposed condition, she prayed, as she has always done, about her sickness. Also, out of fear, she dieted.

Meanwhile, NationMultimedia reported that Suthida Sangsumart, 23, who supposedly tested positive of AIDS 15 years ago, and taken anti-aids medications, turned out to be free of HIV at recent tests.

She plan to sue the hospital that conducted the previous test. NOTE: HIV has no known cure.

So medical errors are not rare after all.

Even worse is the prevalence of ‘the error of medical omission’ or the failure of doctors to advice patients on the proper management of their conditions, as well as the failure to advice patients about important steps to take to ensure accurate unbiased laboratory tests.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2017/07/04/retired-filipino-teacher-supposed-kidney-disease/feed/0Motivations to speak in English the Filipino wayhttps://www.fatethailand.com/2017/06/24/motivations-filipinos/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2017/06/24/motivations-filipinos/#respondSat, 24 Jun 2017 10:22:51 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2771Motivations are often theorised as the key in learning English, but why are they so difficult to pinpoint? My Thai wife and I were contacted by the principal of a public school, where we had held two sessions of English camps, about the continuation of the said project. As an aside, we were also asked [...]

My Thai wife and I were contacted by the principal of a public school, where we had held two sessions of English camps, about the continuation of the said project. As an aside, we were also asked for the real reasons as to why many Filipinos are able to speak in English.

I explained, as she must have heard from others or read about it, that several factors combined to make this sort of a phenomenon that has transformed a non-native English country to speak in English widely.

The most common reasons being cited (not in absolute terms), which I just repeated to the principal, include:

Pilipino and English are the media of instruction even in public schools. Mainly English at the university level.

English movies and TV series are not dubbed or subtitled in Pilipino. Some TV channels do.

In primary school workbooks, an illustration of a dog is captioned simply as ‘dog’ and does not include the Filipino word ‘aso,’ the Tagalog word for dog. That was at least during my time.

Our parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and even grandparents can help children with their English home works.

The American colonisation of the Philippines played the major role in spreading English. We have 8 major dialects and languages from a total of 135 (there were more). The use of English was, and still is, a convenient option for regional communication.

All of the listed reasons above help. I consider them the conditions for learning English, which is one side of the equation. Motivations are the second factor, but I prefer to use the word ‘rewards’.

One of these motivations, which is common to many students from various countries, is ‘to have good grades’. Having done very well makes both the student and the parents happy and proud, which also often leads to additional perks or gifts from parents.

A student wanting to join an English-speaking student group is another motivating factor; it’s a ‘sense of belonging’ type of reward.

The belief that English speaking ability can bring in better paying jobs is another motivator. This is more pronounced among university students, though.

Taking all of them out will most likely break the motivations to learn and practise English for most students, but not for many Filipinos, I believe.

Filipinos in general have one more instilled and homegrown motivation tucked away in their psyche, and that is, they want to work abroad so learning and communicating in English is a must.

Remove these motivations, especially the last one, and the number of English-speaking Filipinos should shrink to the level of the English-speaking population as that in Japan or Thailand.

In short, conditions and motivations are important. But I would put more emphasis on motivations or rewards, simply because a motivated student will create the conditions to learn and speak in English.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2017/06/24/motivations-filipinos/feed/0Medical error is a major cause of deaths globallyhttps://www.fatethailand.com/2016/05/10/take-control-health/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2016/05/10/take-control-health/#commentsTue, 10 May 2016 09:53:01 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2628Medical Error. It’s time to take control of your health. For over 25 years I had regularly visited my cardiologist from a prestigious private Bangkok hospital every three or four months and yet my pre-diabetes was not identified in time until it had become full-blown, and my endocrinologist almost misdiagnosed my diabetes as having progressed [...]

Medical Error.

It’s time to take control of your health.

For over 25 years I had regularly visited my cardiologist from a prestigious private Bangkok hospital every three or four months and yet my pre-diabetes was not identified in time until it had become full-blown, and my endocrinologist almost misdiagnosed my diabetes as having progressed to chronic kidney disease which would have been a medical error.

My undiagnosed pre-diabetes despite regular doctor visits and my nearly-misdiagnosed kidney disease were not isolated cases, and in many similar incidents had lead to deaths and serious harm to patients worldwide.

From my personal experience, I mentioned only two examples but there were more, and the cases of my friends in Thailand and in the Philippines, coupled with the growing number of studies and proofs that medical errors are indeed a leading cause of deaths and serious medical complications, I have decided to take control of my health.

I still trust doctors but I now don’t leave everything to them anymore.

My health and my life are my own. It is my business to take the lead in managing it.

The doctors, nutritionists and pharmacists and other medical professionals are part of the team that you pay to assist you in taking care of your health. Although you can’t say the same thing if you’re seeing a government hospital where many doctors regard themselves as gods and beyond questioning.

The change in my perception and attitude came in slow then made a remarkable leap at a certain point.

My pre-diabetes stage, with its typical symptoms of excessive thirst and frequent urination, was never flagged in time by my cardiologist until it developed into a full-blown diabetes in 2013.

I asked myself, “What’s the use of regular check-ups and laboratories if your doctor could not even advise you precautionary or preventive measures?”

In 2014 I suffered a series of morning spikes in my blood pressure. My cardiologist increased the dosage of my medications yet the spikes persisted.

A search in the internet for similar case as mine showed many precedents. The one that really got my attention was the role of snoring in morning blood pressure spikes.

A sleep apnea test was conducted at another hospital which showed I had a moderate case of sleep apnea, meaning I stop breathing and deprive my brain of precious oxygen for few seconds for every minute of snoring. In the morning, the body tries to recoup the oxygen lost the previous night too quickly leading to possible spikes.

A CPAP machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) was prescribed. It automatically blows in air when the breathing stops. After about a week my blood pressure spikes disappeared. I stopped using CPAP in 2016 after reducing my weight to ideal range which consequently reduced my snoring very significantly.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2016/05/10/take-control-health/feed/1Three things you need when filing a labour case at the labour departmenthttps://www.fatethailand.com/2016/05/02/labour-department/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2016/05/02/labour-department/#respondMon, 02 May 2016 03:48:44 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2617Filing a case at the labour department. You can file your complaint at the labour department without a lawyer. What you need are three things. 1. State your complaint in writing, in Thai language and as factual and as straight forward as possible. Being factual means avoiding, among other things, the words like injustice, unreasonable, [...]

You can file your complaint at the labour department without a lawyer. What you need are three things.

1. State your complaint in writing, in Thai language and as factual and as straight forward as possible.

Being factual means avoiding, among other things, the words like injustice, unreasonable, unfair, mistreatment, inhuman, violation of human rights, etc.

These words are vague and will take some length to explain thus making your complaint letter much longer than needed, and making it more difficult for the labour department to evaluate your case.

If you are filing a complaint against a school that did not pay your separation pay say it straight. For example: “I am filing a complaint against [name of the school and address]for not paying my separation pay.”

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2016/05/02/labour-department/feed/0Teacher suing recruitment agency to reclaim salary deductionshttps://www.fatethailand.com/2016/02/16/teacher-suing-recruitment-agency-reclaim-salary-deductions/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2016/02/16/teacher-suing-recruitment-agency-reclaim-salary-deductions/#respondTue, 16 Feb 2016 15:40:13 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2585A recruitment agency takes advantage of Filipino teachers The said recruitment agency, which claimed to be her legitimate employer, had transferred money to the bank account of the Filipino teacher her supposed monthly salary of 25,000 baht in the past 10 months. There are glaring issues though. According the to the template and fill-in-the-blank [...]

The said recruitment agency, which claimed to be her legitimate employer, had transferred money to the bank account of the Filipino teacher her supposed monthly salary of 25,000 baht in the past 10 months.

There are glaring issues though.

According the to the template and fill-in-the-blank ‘Teaching Contract’ issued by the recruitment agency: “The agency provides teaching staff to various schools. As such, the teacher will in effect be an employee of the agency, not the school at which he or she is posted. Nevertheless, the teacher will be required to abide by the rules and regulations of the school where he or she is posted.”

However, the work permit of the teacher was issued in the name of the school, which makes the school her legitimate employer and not the recruitment agency.

Below are some of the provisions in the ‘Terms of Employment’ issued by the recruitment agency.

• The teacher will be posted at (left blank) for the period commencing (left blank) through to (left blank)
• The teacher will be paid a monthly salary of (left blank) Baht.
• Prorated deductions (1/30 of the monthly salary) will be made to the teacher’s salary for any missed day, whatever the reason illness, personal, visa run etc. (no work no pay)
• Working hours are Monday to Friday (left blank) statutory and school holidays excepted. Occasional attendance on a Saturday may be required for special events.
• No health insurance.

Note that the teacher printed her name, affixed her signature and filled out the date of the signing of the contract.

The recruitment agency representative, whose full name and position were printed in an earlier paragraph of the contract, affixed her signature with no printed name and the date of the signing unfilled.

Not a single page of the contract carried the agency’s official company seal.

The teacher also signed an employment agreement with the school she is teaching at for a monthly salary of 50,000 baht covering a 12-month period , but only 10 months are paid,

The Agreement with the school stated a paid sick leave of four days per semester.

The Agreement stipulated that the teacher’s salaries were to be deposited at the bank account of the same person mentioned in the recruitment agency “Teaching Contract”.

The said agency representative was not a signatory in the Agreement with the school.

The Agreement carried the official seal of the school on every page as required by law.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2016/02/16/teacher-suing-recruitment-agency-reclaim-salary-deductions/feed/0Filipina teacher wins first round against illegal salary deductionshttps://www.fatethailand.com/2015/12/17/filipino-teacher-wins/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/12/17/filipino-teacher-wins/#respondThu, 17 Dec 2015 06:05:32 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2561Filipino teacher wins first round fight against recruiter A Filipino teacher of a government school outside Bangkok has reaped the first reward of her solo fight against illegal agency salary deductions by getting the actual pay as stated in her renewed employment contract with the same school. For a couple of years, the teacher had [...]

A Filipino teacher of a government school outside Bangkok has reaped the first reward of her solo fight against illegal agency salary deductions by getting the actual pay as stated in her renewed employment contract with the same school.

For a couple of years, the teacher had had to bear the illegal monthly deductions purportedly to cover the costs of work permit processing, income taxes and other expenses.

The said teacher, on her own and despite threats by the department head with dismissal, getting black-listed and police action, finally filed a complaint at the Ministry of Labour (MOL).

According to her a dialogue was called with the school to discuss the issue, which turned out be just enough for her to receive the full pay written in her new employment contract with the same school.

Her complaint ignited an infighting among the respondents, in which the school director disavowed any knowledge of the issue and left the school department head, the recruitment agency and some Filipinos directly responsible.

The second and third parts of her complaint are still pending.

She sought the assistance of the government labour office to have the agency return in full the deductions already made by the said company.

The teacher’s name and the school’s, and other details have been purposely left out so as not to jeopardise the case.

The news on the sorry state of Thai teacher’s financial affair has been carried by various local newspapers.

A move is afoot to extend assistance to debt ridden teachers by temporarily halting interest payment.

Some 50,000 teachers with a combined debt of 72 billion baht (US$2 billion) have so far joined the program.

Despite the relief measures, the Education Minister Kamjorn Tatiyakavee said teachers would need to ultimately find ways to settle their financial obligations, the Weekly reported.

A Thai PBS story as far back as July this year reported that the teachers with debt arecategorised into four groups.

The first group are teachers sued by banks or properties seized by courts will be extended with an interest payment break up to 3 years, but who must repay the overdue interest and principal when the period expires, Thai PBS said.

It is reported that 500,000 teachers have outstanding debts with the GSB, in which more than 1,000 are classified as critical cases.

The second group are teachers who have defaulted on loans for 12 consecutive months, their interest payments will be slashed by half for two years but must repay the principal and the remaining interest.

The third group are those who have defaulted on loans no longer than 12 months, which the GSB will assist in debt restructuring.

The final group are regular loan applicants who given a leniency period in principal repayment for 2 years but are required to pay monthly interest payments, Thai PBS wrote.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/17/thai-teachers-deep-in-debt/feed/1Killer diseases in Philippines and the world could be preventedhttps://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/14/killer-diseases/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/14/killer-diseases/#commentsSat, 14 Nov 2015 02:16:03 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2400Killer diseases In the Philippines, 170,000 Filipinos die from cardiovascular diseases annually, up from 85,000 more than 20 years ago and that the diseases of the heart and the vascular system have remained the top two causes of death in the country since 1993. These same diseases are the major killers worldwide. The World Health [...]

Poll Options are limited because JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

These and other non-communicable diseases (NCD) are preventable or highly manageable, please tick and press vote and read on.

Killer diseases

In the Philippines, 170,000 Filipinos die from cardiovascular diseases annually, up from 85,000 more than 20 years ago and that the diseases of the heart and the vascular system have remained the top two causes of death in the country since 1993.

These same diseases are the major killers worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO), estimated that 68% of the 56 million deaths globally in 2012 were caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs.)

Of the NCDs, cardiovascular disease was the overwhelming killer that took the lives of 17.5 million people, or 3 of every 10 deaths. Ischaemic heart disease killed 7.4 million people and stroke killed 7.4 million people.

Communicable or infectious diseases, maternal, neonatal and nutrition related conditions were responsible for 23% of the worldwide deaths, while fatalities from injuries represented 9%.

The 2012 report is the most current estimates on NCD mortality in 194 countries.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/14/killer-diseases/feed/1Ministry aims to cut foreign English tutorshttps://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/13/2382/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/13/2382/#commentsFri, 13 Nov 2015 05:53:04 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2382The Education Ministry plans to recruit its first batch of 500 Thai teachers who teach English in state-run schools nationwide to undergo a “train-the-trainer” programme in a bid to reduce the cost of hiring foreign English teachers. Read more, Bangkok Post … According to the Bangkok Post report, Deputy Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said that [...]

]]>The Education Ministry plans to recruit its first batch of 500 Thai teachers who teach English in state-run schools nationwide to undergo a “train-the-trainer” programme in a bid to reduce the cost of hiring foreign English teachers. Read more, Bangkok Post …

According to the Bangkok Post report, Deputy Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said that we could not rely on foreign English teachers to improve our English learning forever.

The situation is that even cash-strapped schools that could not afford to hire native English speakers were hiring Pakistanis and Filipinos.

According to Mr Teerakiat, the country needed to stand on its own and use foreign English teachers only when necessary, the report said.

]]>https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/13/2382/feed/2Filipino teachers furious at pay deductions by recruitershttps://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/06/filipino-teachers/
https://www.fatethailand.com/2015/11/06/filipino-teachers/#commentsFri, 06 Nov 2015 11:34:06 +0000https://www.fatethailand.com/?p=2172Filipino teachers Filipino teachers in Thailand showed outrage over the practice of their employment agencies to deduct certain amount from their monthly salaries for the whole duration of their employment. At the Labor Rights Seminar: Part II, organised by the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on 31 October 2015 to enlighten their nationals of their employee [...]

File photo of the labour rights seminar held at the Philippine embassy.

Filipino teachers in Thailand showed outrage over the practice of their employment agencies to deduct certain amount from their monthly salaries for the whole duration of their employment.

At the Labor Rights Seminar: Part II, organised by the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on 31 October 2015 to enlighten their nationals of their employee rights, Filipino teachers took turn in pouring out their anger at employment agencies’ practice of unfair salary deductions.

The rampant complaints prompted seminar resource speakers Atty Cynthia M. Pornavalai and Atty Kitti Thaisomboon of Tilleke and Gibbins to comment about the urgency of the matter.

Charge d’ Affaires a.i. Jay Francis G Alcantara encouraged the affected teachers to submit to them pertinent information and documents so the embassy could take actions.

The seminar clarified that Filipino teachers must ask for an English copy of their contracts. It would be as a first step to protecting themselves against abuses and other problems.

Mr Alcantara said a number of Filipino teachers have already been advised by the embassy to get a copy of their contracts.

The seminar explained that Filipino teachers in the primary and secondary education in private schools were covered under the Private School Act, B.E. 2550 (2007), while foreign university lecturers and professors were covered under the Private University Act, B.E. 2546 (2003).

Non-teaching school personnel were under the Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998), while the Thailand Civil and Commercial Code sections 575 and 420 also impact on teachers in private schools.